Too much blame being put on Brady

Too much blame being put on Brady

There was a time (about 13 years ago) when the Patriots were not special. They were not Goliath, they were not a powerhouse, they were not "Brady's Bunch."

Then, one fateful day, Tom Brady came onto the field and changed all that.

Playoff runs. Magic. Super Bowls. 10, 12, 14 and even 16 win seasons became the norm. Lots of hair tosses and commercials. Dramatic comebacks. Record-breaking seasons. One of the most dominant franchises in sports history. A culture change in New England.

On Friday, Felger and Mazz debated whether the 2012 version of Tom Brady is being blamed too much for not living up to the other-worldly performances we've come to expect of him.

Some say Brady's age is getting to him and he's going to have more "off performances" like we saw in Seattle last week as part of that aging process. Don't tell that to Felger.

"For the love of God, the reason the Patriots knock on the door every year is because of Tom Brady," said Felger.

But there's also the group of people who refuse to believe the infallible Brady could ever succumb to something as mortal as age.

"That's just denying reality," said Felger. "That's just denying the condition of the human body in that sport.

The middle ground is acknowledging he's not quite what he was, but he's still damn good enough. And I think that's the middle ground and it feels like there's too many people on either side of it."

Both Felger and Mazz admit that Brady's performance has started to slip, but both note that it's not that pronounced, and when you consider how much better he was than every other quarterback in the league, his "slip" still has him above most every other quarterback in the league.

But there's one thing that's driving Mazz crazy.

"How much are they going to ask this guy to cover for? How long is this going to go on? He's been covering their ass for five years. He got them to two Super Bowls. But the point is, they've been asking him to cover up their shortcomings for four years. And now he's starting to slip and it's 'I'm tired of Brady'?

When you ask one guy to cover up all your mistakes, year after year after year... how much can he do?"

One thing is clear, there are about 30 other teams in the league who would love to have a quarterback like Brady leading their team, and both Felger and Mazz think the fans who already have Brady should be both realistic and grateful.

He didn’t land in New England, but he didn’t too badly, winding up with the usually competitive Ravens.

On a Thursday conference call with New England media, Weddle confirmed that there was mutual interest expressed.

“Obviously, I was interested,” he acknowledged. “I have nothing but high regard, respect and admiration – and envy, quite honestly – of the success of the New England Patriots over the years. Obviously, battling them in my career, it’s always been a great game. I love the way they play, love the foundation, love everything about it. It was definitely on my radar. There were talks both ways, it just didn’t end up [working out].”

The numbers massed at the position with Patrick Chung, Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon played a role in the two sides not being able to reach accord, according to Weddle.

“I’m good buddies with Patrick Chung,” he said. “I grew up playing with him and Devin [McCourty] is one of the best to play, so I don’t know if it would have worked out personnel-wise. But obviously, I could have seen myself fitting in there seamlessly.”

Weddle’s New England attraction apparently wasn’t love that bloomed late in his career. Toward the end of his conference call, Weddle said, “I’m still wondering why they just didn’t draft me in ’07; I could have been still playing there now.”

As reporters puzzled for a moment trying to recall the 2007 first-rounder, Weddle chipped in with the answer: “[They took] Brandon Meriweather.”

More importantly around here, the Patriots now are in position to win out and claim the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

Prior to the Raiders loss, Oakland would have been the top seed if both they and the Patriots won out. Now, the 10-2 Patriots have a leg up on the rest of the conference. The Raiders’ road stays tough. They are at San Diego and Denver and host the Colts.

The Chiefs have a more favorable close to the season with home games against Tennessee and Denver before their season finale at San Diego.

The Patriots’ road over the final four is no picnic though, beginning with the Ravens and at Denver before the last two hosting the Jets and traveling to Miami.